[sephka]

I have the cheap, black-plastic kind of interconnects going from my TV to my mini-system (crap, I know.) Recently, I’ve been having problems with volume, having to turn the system up very high (80% volume or more, typically) to have an enjoyable volume. More distortion is also evident. My only theory is the interconnect has gone to hell - it's very old, cheap...and is generally a piece of plastic ****. So my question is...does interconnects lose volume as they degenerate?

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by sephka I have the cheap, black-plastic kind of interconnects going from my TV to my mini-system (crap, I know.) Recently, I’ve been having problems with volume, having to turn the system up very high (80% volume or more, typically) to have an enjoyable volume. More distortion is also evident. My only theory is the interconnect has gone to hell - it's very old, cheap...and is generally a piece of plastic ****. So my question is...does interconnects lose volume as they degenerate?

No. The sound may suffer a bit if there's a poor connection, but as a rule, interconnects either make an electrical connection or they don't. If you're cranking the volume up to those levels, there's something wrong somewhere. If your TV has a variable volume output, could it have been turned down? Does your mini system have the same volume issues with other sources?

 

[sephka]

Well, let me be more in depth. I have the PS2 plugged into my TV via component inputs. From there, I make a connection from the mini-system to the TV, with the audio interconnects. Set the TV to use the mini-sytem's speakers, and there we go. My mini-system plays CDs and tapes fine, but those aren't truly different sources, I suppose. I don't have the ability to test with anything else at the moment.

Finally, there are indeed two modes on my TV, variable output and fixed output. I have been using only fixed output. Switching to variable output does not solve the problem. I'm thinking, perhaps the PS2 DVD player plays at low volumes? I COULD attempt to hook up my (shared) DVD player to the TV and see if that gives me any better results through the speakers.

 

[Hirsch]

If you simply turn on the TV, do you have the same volume problem as with the PS2?

If you use the TV's speakers, is the volume from PS2 still low?

If your minisystem plays CDs and tapes fine, that's good. One issue eliminated.

Try the PS2 straight into the minisystem and see what it sounds like.

 

[sephka]

Cable does not have the volume problem, should have thought to check that. Volume is low out of the PS2, about half as high as the cable, while using the TV's speakers.
It's not going to be an easy task to hook the PS2 directly to the system...cable length issue. I've pretty much resolved, however, to place this system in a recreational room and settle for headphone-only listening until I purchase a surround system.